A mainstay of sales, seminar and similar presentations is the floor or table mounted presentation easel which is used to hold pads of papers or some other form of writing surface, or to hold posters, show cards, and the like. An alternative and more elaborate presentation unit consists of a presentation cabinet permanently mounted to a wall and usually provided with a pair of doors which open to reveal a chalk board, one or two cork board surfaces, possibly a projection screen, and the like.
Such conventional presentation units suffer from a number of disadvantages which impair their usefulness. Easels are bulky and require substantial floor space for use. Wall mounted presentation cabinets have a complex construction and thus are relatively costly. Further, wall mounted presentation cabinets are not suited to the use of writing pads as the writing surface, since successive sheets of the pad cannot be readily turned back over the top of the pad as is the case with easel mounted pads. Still further, there are many environments in which a permanently mounted wall cabinet is not appropriate and space will not allow an easel.
These disadvantages are overcome by the mounting methods and apparatus of the present invention, which allow a presentation board of exceedingly simple construction to be removably mounted to a wall and writing pads to be utilized on wall mounted boards. More specifically, in accordance with the present invention, apparatus for wall mounting of a presentation board comprises a wall mounted support bracket, a mounting member for detachably engaging the support bracket, and support apparatus connecting the mounting member to the board such that the board is supportable in an inclined position with respect to the mounting wall when the mounting member is operatively engaged with the support bracket in a board supporting position. Preferably, the mounting member comprises a hook portion for pivotably engaging the support bracket, and the support apparatus comprises an angled member having first and second legs, which advantageously are pivotably connected together, to allow the angle of inclination to be varied. Preferably the support bracket and mounting member define complementary planar surfaces which are in abutting engagement when the mounting member is operatively engaged with the support bracket in a board supporting position thereof.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a presentation pad is mounted in an orientation on the presentation board such that the bound end of the pad constitutes the bottom and the unbound end constitutes the top. The upper unbound ends of the pad sheets are releasably secured by a retaining member and successive sheets are exposed by pulling the unbound ends of the covering sheets from the retaining member and allowing the freed sheets to hang down from the lower bound end of the pad.
The prior patented art shows various types of easels and presentation boards and means for holding articles thereon, including paper pads. Harris, U.S. Pat. No. 547,720, and Brooksbank, U.S. Pat. No. 2,355,506, both disclose the general idea of a wall mounted presentation board which is supported at an inclined angle by means of a stand-off member. Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 41,420, Alcorn, U.S. Pat. No. 2,156,829, and Davis, U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,387, relate generally to support stands having pivoted or hinged parts to provide an inclined supporting surface. They differ in many respects from the structures and arrangements disclosed herein.
A number of prior patents (Reid, U.S. Pat. No. 542,809, Filler, U.S. Pat. No. 751,490, Gawthrop, U.S. Pat. No. 3,106,799, and Phillips, U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,744, among others) disclose clamp holders for releasably holding the top of the copy. Others show holders for receiving the bottom of the copy. See for example Clark, U.S. Pat. No. 202,790, Mitchell, U.S. Pat. No. 493,936, Clark, U.S. Pat. No. 1,947,757, and Col, U.S. Pat. No. 1,963,887. However, none of the prior art examined discloses the particular structures and arrangements of the present invention for mounting a pad of paper on a wall mounted presentation board with the bound edges of the pad lowermost and with its unbound upper edges releasably retained so that a sheet at a time may be released and permitted to hang down over the lower bound edge so as to present to view the next sheet of the pad. This concept and the means disclosed in this application for effecting it are believed to be clearly novel in view of any art known.
Other features and advantages of the present invention are stated in or apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments found hereinbelow.